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Council adopts tiered Parks & Rec membership program, removes enrollment fee; golf fees delegated to staff
Summary
The Allen City Council adopted two resolutions setting Parks and Recreation fees: a tiered membership program (bronze/silver/gold), removal of a $75 enrollment fee, senior membership access for residents aged 60+, and delegation that allows the city manager to set golf-course fees with board review. The fee changes take effect March 10.
The Allen City Council voted to adopt two fee resolutions recommended by Parks and Recreation staff that revise membership structure and rental pricing and delegate annual review of golf fees to staff with Parks and Recreation Board oversight.
Elise (assistant director for Parks and Recreation) told the council that the proposed fee schedule creates a three-tier membership program for recurring monthly facilities: bronze (single facility), silver (any two facilities) and gold (all three facilities). She said the gold package carries an approximately 15 percent discount and the silver roughly a 10 percent discount compared with single-facility pricing. The tiers apply to the city’s three recurring monthly facilities: Joe Farmer Recreation Center, Don Rodenbaugh Aquatic Center (DRAC), and the Stephen Terrell Recreation Center (STRC). Ford Pool remains included in memberships as it was after the 2023 fee schedule change.
The presentation proposed removing a $75 enrollment fee for certain memberships and deleting the membership-freeze policy tied to that fee; staff said the first month’s dues would serve as the initial payment. The assistant director said the senior recreation center will remain an annual membership priced at $5 per year and that members 60 or older will have access to the senior recreation center as part of membership packages.
Rental-fee adjustments were also included: new price points for Heritage Village structures and the Barkyard, pricing for Terrell Rec’s Great Lawn, reduced classroom rates after a comparative study, a 20 percent resident/member discount for rentals, and removal of the deposit for standard pavilion rentals. Staff said deposits had low recovery rates and the administrative cost of refunds was high.
For golf operations, the council adopted a resolution (no more than two resolutions were presented together) authorizing the city manager or designee to set course fees for Waters Creek Golf Course; those fees will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Board and retain a 20 percent resident discount. Staff said course fees may be adjusted more than once a year to respond to market conditions, but they would aim to remain at a midpoint price point.
The resolutions were adopted with motions and seconds on the record; the council indicated unanimous passage without a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript. Staff said the fee changes would take effect March 10 and that communications and implementation plans were ready to launch.
Staff also described a package of options for members who had already paid the $75 initiation fee: alternatives include simulator rental time plus day passes, batting-cage time plus day passes, an hour of personal training (valued higher than the initiation fee), or a bundle of eight day passes valued at $96.
Authorities cited in the agenda packet included the city’s standard municipal fee authority and the resolutions adopted tonight (resolution numbers read into the record).
